Free Republic

Vice President Joe Biden blasted the NRA for engaging in a "disinformation" campaign meant to "scare people" from supporting background checks. “Kinda scary man, the black helicopter crowd is really upset,” Biden said about the NRA´s concern with the creation of a federal government gun registry. Biden was speaking at the White House with Attorney General Eric Holder on reducing gun violence and was joined by law enforcement officials

HELI-EXPO: Chinese WZ-10 attack helicopter based on Kamov design The Changhe Aircraft WZ-10 attack helicopter is based on a Russian design commissioned by the Chinese, Kamov's chief design engineer says. In 1995, Kamov developed a preliminary design in the 6t weight class under a contract with the Chinese government, says Sergey Mikheev, Kamov's chief design engineer, speaking at the Heli-Expo trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada. "Due to understandable reasons, this information was kept secret," he says. Dave Majumdar/Flightglobal The Project 941 design was not based on any Soviet-era attack helicopter project and was strictly designed for China's unique requirements,...

Helicopter pilot spots a model plane stuck in trees. What he does next makes one little boy's day.

Despite the relative quiet in northern Israel in recent years, the threat posed by Hizbullah remains, Minister Yaalon said Wednesday evening. Yaalon spoke at a memorial for the 73 soldiers killed in a helicopter crash over Kibbutz Dafna 16 years ago. “The 73 fallen sons embody the complexity of our lives here,” Yaalon said, “and our struggle, which, sadly, is not yet over.” “We are a people that loves peace,” he continued. “That is how we raise our sons and daughters.” Addressing bereaved families at the event, he said, “That is how you raised your children who fell while on...

An Indiana, Pa., man was killed Sunday in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles while working on a military-themed reality show for the Discovery Channel. Michael Donatelli, 45, was one of three people, including the pilot, who were killed in the crash, according to Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Jason Brandenburg. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. The crash occurred about 3:45 a.m. on the Polsa Rosa Ranch in Acton, north of Los Angeles. Officials at the ranch declined to comment. Mr. Donatelli served four tours of duty in Iraq, worked as a Washington, D.C.,...

See the Video on YouTube Does this make you feel safe? 6 heavily armed officers of the state - overpaid, and awaiting fat pensions - circle and harass a sweet lady out in the desert collecting rocks. The use of a $5-8million helicopter that costs about $2000 per hour to fly, the six overpaid donut munchers inside and the illegal search of an innocent, harmless lady out collecting rocks is a travesty of justice and the American way. What have they done to our country? Do you feel safe now?

Justice Dept. chopper used for football drop at HS homecoming • State agents investigate apparent unauthorized use of police helicopter SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —California taxpayers shelled out hundreds of dollars for the apparent unauthorized use of a police helicopter at a high school football game. The helicopter incident involved a high school homecoming event that top law enforcement supervisors at the Department of Justice knew nothing about, KCRA 3 has learned. The incident took place last November, when a DOJ helicopter hovered over El Dorado Hills for a homecoming game at Oak Ridge High School. In a video later uploaded...

A helicopter has crashed into a crane in Vauxhall, south London, plummeting into the ground. The crash involved two cars and an unknown number of people, London Fire Service said. Sky sources said one person was aboard the aircraft, which is believed to be an Augusta 109.

President Obama praised the resilient New York attitude and the efforts of rescue workers during his talk after touring areas of Queens and Staten Island that were ravaged by Hurricane Sandy.‘I´m very proud of you, New York. You guys are tough you bounce back,’ he said while visiting New Dorp Beach in Staten Island. After a brief helicopter tour of Queens- passing over particularly devastated areas like Rockaway Beach and Breezy Point- they arrived in Staten Island where they examined the damage by foot.

Citing cuts in the federal defense budget and a continuing weakness in its military helicopter business, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. announced Monday it will close its military completions center in Big Flats at the end of the year.

Link to Bernanke's announcement today So... For the 150 million people in the workforce, that's $567 dollars per person per month. For the 75 million people who pay income taxes to the Federal Government, that's $1,133 per person per month. For the 23 million people looking for full-time employment, that's $3,696 dollars per person month. For the 4 million people the administration says are looking for work, that's. $21,250 dollars per person per month. The bureau of labor statistics says there are currently 3.7 million job openings. Obama's economic team had projected that 4 million more people would be working...

Musings of a helo driver... Anything that screws its way into the sky flies according to unnatural principals. You never want to sneak up behind an old, high-time helicopter pilot and clap your hands. He will instantly dive for cover and most likely whimper...then get up and smack you. There are no old helicopters laying around airports like you see old airplanes. There is a reason for this. Come to think of it, there are not many old, high-time helicopter pilots hanging around airports either so the first issue is problematic. You can always tell a helicopter pilot in anything...

NEW DELHI: India is getting ready to order 22 heavy-duty Apache helicopters for around $1.4 billion, in what will be yet another big defence deal to be bagged by the US. The US has already made military sales worth over $8 billion to India over the last few years, despite it having lost out to France in the almost $20 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project to supply 126 fighters to IAF, which is in the final commercial negotiations stage. In the battle for the attack helicopters, Boeing's AH-64D Apache Longbow met all ASQRs (air staff qualitative requirements) during...

August 16, 2012: Seven American soldiers were killed Thursday when their helicopter crashed in Kandahar Province in southern Afghanistan, U.S. officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter, although the insurgency often exaggerates its victories and is quick to claim responsibility for any incident involving foreign troop deaths. The area where the helicopter went down is an insurgent hotbed and supply route, lying north of Kandahar city near volatile Zabul and Uruzgan provinces. This story is still developing. R.I.P.

(CNN)– A NATO helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan Thursday killed at least 11 people, including three Americans, the alliance’s International Security Assistance Force said. The Associated Press is reporting that the Taliban is claiming that insurgents are responsible for the attack. ISAF said three were U.S. Forces-Afghanistan service members. The others include four ISAF service members, but it is not clear what their nationalities are. Three members of the Afghan National Security Forces and an Afghan civilian interpreter also died. The cause of the crash is under investigation, ISAF said in a news release.

HONOLULU — The Marine Corps will base two squadrons of its latest transport aircraft, the Osprey, and one light attack helicopter squadron at Kaneohe Bay, the Department of the Navy said Wednesday. The MV-22 Osprey takes off like a helicopter and flies like an airplane. The Marine base will have 24 Osprey aircraft in total. The Marines won't use Ospreys to train at Kalaupapa on Molokai as earlier proposed, out of concern the aircraft could affect archaeological resources next to the airport, the Navy said in the document announcing the decision. The Navy made the decision after issuing an environmental...

At least five people, including three Russians, were killed in a helicopter crash in Turkey Thursday, according to Russian Federal Air Transport Agency Rosaviatsia. The Kamov Ka-32 helicopter hit a mountainous slope before it crashed into a valley during a firefighting mission, killing all five people on board, Xinhua quoted a spokesperson for Rosaviatsia as saying. The other two killed were Turkish citizens, the spokesperson said. The accident would be investigated by Turkish authorities with assistance from Rosaviatsia and Interstate Aviation Committee, an organisation authorized to oversee the use and management of civil aviation in the Commonwealth of Independent States,...

Ospreys to stay grounded for now Pentagon chief bans test flights until Japan OKs aircraft's safety WASHINGTON — The United States will suspend all flight operations by MV-22 Ospreys in Japan until Tokyo confirms the tilt-rotor aircraft's safety, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said.

Kamov vs. Mil: prospects for Russian chopper fleet By the end of this year, Russia’s Far East air base of Chernigovka will be fully reequipped with new Mi-8AMTSh and Ka-52 attack choppers that will replace the obsolete Mi-8s and Mi-24s. Designed as a special forces' support helicopter, the Ka-52 is gradually growing to become the army’s main attack gunship. Plans to launch Ka-52 batch production were announced as early as in 2006. Under the modernization initiative, Ka-52s were to make up only a small portion of the 300 attack helicopters – just several squadrons of 70 to 80 choppers –...

Birmingham's Southern Museum of Flight gets Soviet helicopter (slideshow, video) BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The hull of one of the most feared helicopters in history arrived at the Southern Museum of Flight Tuesday, riding on the back of a trailer 186 miles from the Fort Rucker U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence. It was a camouflage-painted, Mi-24 Hind. The Hind was a flying gunship that became the iconic image of the Soviet Union's war in Afghanistan in the 1980s. It was also a metaphor for the unequal struggle between an advanced technology super-power and a lightly armed guerrilla force on the...